Comfortable
by EmW05
Summary: Lucas Scott and Brooke Davis thought their live were picture perfect, that was until everything changed in the blink of an eye. Sequel To Being Bad. STORY COMPLETE. Sequel to Comfortable, Nothing Gold Can Stay, to be posted soon so be on the look out!
1. Prolouge

**Sequel to Being Bad....**  
  
**_Comfortable  
_**By John Mayer  
I just remembered, that time at the market

Snuck up behind me and jumped on my shopping cart  
  
And rode down, aisle 5  
  
You looked behind you to smile back at me  
  
Crashed into a rack full of magazines  
They asked us if we could leave.  
  
Can't remember, what went wrong last September  
  
But I'm sure that you'd remind me, if you had to  
  
Our love was, comfortable and  
  
So broken in  
  
I sleep with this new girl I'm still getting used to  
  
My friends all approve, say she's gonna be good for you  
  
They throw me, high fives  
  
She says the bible is all that she reads  
  
And prefers that I not use profanity  
  
Your mouth was, so dirty  
  
Life of the party  
  
And she swears that she's artsy  
  
But you could distinguish  
  
Miles from Coltrane  
  
Our love was, comfortable and  
  
So broken in  
  
She's perfect, so flawless  
  
Or so they say, say  
  
She thinks I can't see the smile that she's fakin'  
  
And poses for pictures that aren't being taken  
  
I loved you  
  
Grey sweat pants, no makeup, so perfect  
  
Our love was, comfortable and  
  
So broken in  
  
She's perfect, So flawless  
  
I'm not impressed, I want you back.

* * *

Don't be confused. You will understand everything soon enough. This story's point of view is going to be split between Lucas and Brooke, so pay attention to the beginning of every chapter when I will state that narrator. Picks up one year after Being Bad ended. It takes place the summer after graduation.


	2. Chapter 1

**_chapter.one...brooke_**

Graduation. Kids all across the country wait anxiously for the day they will finally graduate. Some people get upset because of leaving their parents and long time friends. After they get over the upset stage, they finally move on, go to college, and hopefully become successful. All I was thinking about was getting the hell out of Tree Hill. I had no parents to be upset about leaving and I was happy to get away from my so called, "friends".  
  
If you are feeling behind, let me review this for you; starting from the beginning.  
  
Nathan- He and Hailey got married last year. They thought about leaving Tree Hill last summer, which I knew would never happen and it didn't. He continued to play basketball and got a scholarship to UNC to play basketball for them. With Hailey's academic help, he got a full ride.  
  
Hailey- After she and Nathan got married, we became better friends. I had never given her a chance but since Lucas and I were dating and she and Nathan were married, I felt like I was a part of the family. She decided to go to UNC along with Nathan and major in Elementary Education.  
  
Peyton- She sent in hundreds of drawings to The Art Institute of Charlotte until she finally got accepted. After finding out Charlotte was only three hours from Wake Forest, she decided that it was official. She was going to The AIC.  
  
Lucas- Basketball was calling his name. He couldn't get away from it and when a scout from Wake Forest came to Tree Hill to see him play it was final. Lucas was offered a partial academic scholarship and a walk on to the basketball team. He agreed and decided to become a Wake Forest Demon Deacon.  
  
Then there was me. I spent hours and hours talking to the schools guidance counselor about what I enjoyed. Finally I came to the conclusion that the only thing I was good at was shopping and spending money. I told him that I didn't even need to work because of all the money my parents left me. Then he told me that if I didn't get a job that I would shop all day and by the time I was twenty one I would have to file for chapter eleven bankruptcies. He told me that maybe I should go into fashion merchandising or design. I thought about it for a few minutes and came to the conclusion that it was a good idea.  
  
Hailey was so excited when I told her. I remember exactly what she said, "Brooke, I am so happy for you. I thought you were going to have to go to college with an undecided major or that maybe I would have to pick a career for you." She was so good to me. After the whole Lucas thing, Hailey was really there for me. She was the only one; well she and Nathan. But Nathan was a guy; he didn't fully understand the complications.  
  
I couldn't talk to Peyton because she was the root of the problem. I never would have thought that it would happen again. How many times can you cheat on someone? Obviously more than twice. I remember it just like it was yesterday...

* * *

_**Flashback to September Senior Year**_

"The second month of school and you are already skipping first period?" Peyton said as she caught up with me in the hallway. "I can't believe it... well I mean, I can but, still." She threw the pencil that was behind her ear into her backpack.  
  
I rolled my eyes and straightened my strapless rainbow Tiffany Alana top. "Ya know, I mean, I have had close to thirteen years of English, I think I know proper grammar by now and anyways, who uses whom or thou anyway." Hands that were not mine were on my hips, I turned around to see Lucas behind me. "Hey baby." I said kissing him on the cheek.  
  
"Didn't see your car this morning." He said, now walking next to me. He looked so handsome. He had on a pair of dark Diesel jeans and a green Von Dutch shirt that I bought him during the summer.  
  
Peyton butted in, "That's because she just got here." She said giving me a snooty face. "She's decided to skip English 12 all together."  
  
"But don't you think it makes sense, how many years of this stuff do you need? I feel like I know everything there is to know." I looked up and down the hall, "I bet I know more about life than every single person in this hallway."  
  
Peyton agreed, "I bet you do." She stood at the doorway of her next class. "Hey, I'll see you all next period." We all had the same third period class. Lucas and I waved to her and went on our way.  
  
I reached into Lucas' pocket. "Hey there," He said, "Save it for later.""  
  
"No, lemme see your cell phone." I reached deeper into his pocket and finally pulled it out. I called Hailey's cell phone number. She answered and I said, "Hales, math test? Easy, hard, so-so?"  
  
"Um... I think I did okay on it. Maybe a low A."  
  
"So what do you think I will get? B-ish?"  
  
"Yeah... I think so."  
  
Lucas and I stood in the doorway to my next class. I closed the cell phone and threw it into my purse not even remembering it was not mine. Lucas kissed me on the cheek and went on to his next class. I took my regular seat behind Nathan. He said hey as I took my seat. He looked like something was one his mind. "Whats wrong?" I asked him, leaning forward in my seat.  
  
He shook his head, "Oh, nothing. I'm fine." He said halfway smiling. The look on his face resembled that face that you get before you vomit. I leaned back in my seat and made sure not to talk to him again this period. I didn't want puke all over my outfit. I had a best dressed standard to uphold.  
  
A vibration was coming from my purse. I reached in and realized it was a cell phone. Lucas' cell phone. I opened it but didn't say hello. The caller id said Peyton Cell. I heard the voice on the other line. "Did you tell her yet? I don't know if you should or not Lucas, I mean she is my best friend and I really don't want to hurt her again. What do you think?"  
  
I was in shock. I couldn't believe it. He had cheated on me with Peyton, again. I threw the cell phone back into my purse and tapped Nathan on the shoulder. He turned around. "If Ms. Lambert asks where I am, I went to the bathroom. I am feeling sick. Okay?" I told him. He nodded his head in agreement.  
  
I casually walked out of the classroom. Once out, I ran to the bathroom. My back slid down the wall. Someone was in there. I wiped my eyes and stood up. It was a sophomore, Maggie Coleman. The only reason I knew her was because she was on the JV Cheerleading squad. "Hey Brooke." She said. "Killer shoes. I have them in pink."  
  
I gave her a half smile, "Thanks." I went into a bathroom stall and put down the lid to the toilet and sat down. After several minutes I heard a knock at the door.  
  
"Brooke, its Hailey. Nate sent me a text message, he said you were sick." She opened the door and saw me sitting on the toilet with mascara running down my face. "Oh god Brooke. What is it?" I began to sob. She put her arms around me and held me.  
  
"Peyton called Lucas' cell phone that I had. She said something about telling me about a secret." I looked up at her. "I think he cheated on me again."  
  
"Brooke, I..." She paused and knelt down in front of me. "We didn't want you to find out like this."  
  
"You knew?" I asked her, wiping my eyes.  
  
"Nathan told me. Lucas told him. No one knew that I knew. Brooke, I thought about telling you, but you were so happy..."  
  
"So it's true?" I interrupted.  
  
I watched her nod yes. She gave me another hug. I started to push her away until I realized she was the only person I had right now. I couldn't believe it. I thought he was the one for me. Man was I wrong. I had been wrong before, but very seldom admitted it. Right now might be the only time I will admit it, but I was wrong about Lucas. He was not who I thought he was... he was more like me that I had ever known.


	3. Chapter 2

**_chapter.2...lucas_**

Unbelieveable. Every morning I wake up not believing the stupid things I did. Now here I am, alone in my room. If I hadn't screwed everything up, Brooke and I would have still been together and everything would be perfect just like it was supposed to be. Sometimes at night I laid awake thinking about her and the things we could have had.  
  
She avoids me every chance she gets. One day she walked into my mom's café, but when she saw I was there she immediately left. I felt so ashamed. A night last winter Brooke saw Peyton and me out and about. She wouldn't even look at us even though I knew she saw us. She looked so amazing. Everything about her was perfect. Her hair, her clothes, her confidence.  
  
Some days were better than others. There were days when I wanted to be with Brooke more than others and now that school was out and we had graduated, I missed her more than ever and since Peyton and I weren't even together I had to get her back.  
  
Peyton and I had what some would call a one night stand. We had the kind of relationship where we both gave into each other on occasion. I despised myself after it happened, knowing that it always got back to Brooke. This time it was my fault she found out. The look on Brooke's face when she found out plays over and over again in my head everyday.

* * *

**Flashback to September Senior Year**

For the past two years after every period, I met Brooke at her locker and walked her to her next class. When I went to her locker that day, she wasn't there. She was always there. I turned around to see Peyton running toward me. By the look on her face, I could tell something was wrong.  
  
She spoke out of breath, "Lucas, where is your cell phone. I called, someone answered," She was talking so fast I could hardly understand, "I told."  
  
I put my hands on her shoulders, "Calm down. You told what?"  
  
She shrugged my hands off her body, "I told something, about... us."  
  
My heart began to race. I reached into my pockets in search for my phone. Then I remembered where it was. "Brooke had it." Before I could finish my thought, Hailey and Brooke came out of the bathroom.  
  
Brooke looked furious. Her face was red, a combination of anger and tears. Hailey followed a few steps behind to make sure Brooke wouldn't say or do anything she would regret.  
  
Her head was looking down. She wouldn't look at Peyton or me. I watched her shake her head. Hailey stood at her side. Brooke slowly raised her head to look at me. Peyton was right next to me standing across from Hailey. No one spoke.  
  
Nathan walked up from behind Brooke and Hailey, "Hales, even after we studied last night, I bet I got a C." He looked around at all of us and then to Brooke. "You missed one hell of a test. Where were you?"  
  
Hailey tapped him on the shoulder and whispered into his ear, "Now's not the time."  
  
He looked around at us once more, "oh," he said realizing what was going on.  
  
We were broken into sides. Peyton and I on one and Brooke, Hailey, and Nathan on the other. I hadn't expected Nathan to be on my side, but I had thought Hailey would be.  
  
I watched Brooke reach into her purse and pull out my cell phone. She threw it at me, bit her lip, and broke the silence. "If I had known you were expecting a phone call, I would have made sure to give you your phone back."  
  
Peyton spoke up before I could reply. "Brooke," She said starting to move closer to Brooke. I pulled her back. "It's not what you think."  
  
"You," Brooke pointed to Peyton, "Don't even talk to me." Hailey tapped her on the shoulder and Brooke held up one finger in front of Hailey's face. "It's not what I think?" She laughed. "Well, jeez Peyton since this has never happened before, I guess I have every reason under the sun to believe you right?"  
  
"Come on, Brooke." Peyton reached for Brooke arm.  
  
Brooke quickly moved it away. "I thought I said don't talk to me."  
  
Hailey took Brooke by the arm, "Come on, we don't want to be late for class." Brooke nodded and walked away from Peyton and I, without looking back.  
  
During third period I decided to confess everything to Brooke. Our relationship had been based on the truth and I had broken that trust. Brooke always had issues with trust and truth and now I knew why. It was because of people like me.  
  
I sat in English class staring at a blank sheet of paper contemplating whether or not to write her a note. I came to the conclusion that I should. I picked up my pen and began to write.  
  
Brooke, I know right now I am one of the last people you want to talk, but please hear me out. I know what I did was wrong and I have been kicking myself in the ass everyday since it happened just thinking about what I did to you. You don't need to know when it was but you do need to know why I did it. I knew that I loved you but I just had to make sure that I didn't still have feelings for Peyton and I don't. I am sure that seems so stupid to you right now, but please just give me another chance. I sware on everything that I won't screw up again. We have been through a lot and I am hoping that you will take this as graciously as you have taken everything else. I love you and I hope you still feel the same way. Love You, Luke  
  
I folded the note and prepared to give it to Hailey to give to Brooke before next period. When the bell rang I rushed out of the classroom and saw Hailey in the hall. She was alone now was my chance. I gave her the note and asked her to give it to Brooke. "I will try," She said, "But I am not making any promises."  
  
The note came back to me during lunch. Nathan brought it to me. Scribbled across where I had written were the words, Screw You, in red marker. This was going to be harder than I had expected.


	4. Chapter 3

**_chapter.3...brooke_**

June 13, 2005

Everyone told me that I had been acting weird. Then again, I had reason to. Therefore, everyone was right. Nothing was the same after that day in September, but how could it have been. Did they just expect me to shake it off and say, "No big deal"? If they were truly my friends they would have known better. I never went down with out a fight.

Seeing Lucas and Peyton at school everyday would have been more difficult had they been together. Two weeks after the drama, people seemed to have forgotten it even happened, Peyton included. She began seeing Jake, leaving Lucas single and without a homecoming date. He tried to get me to go with him. Hailey even tried persuading me to go with Lucas. I politely declined giving him the infamous excuse, "I have to wash my hair".

Time after time after time, Lucas tried to win me back. Sending me flowers, chocolates, and even sending me dinner from Besso, the restaurant we ate at on our first date. It was going to take a lot more than brown nosing to win back my trust.

Rosa was crazy about Lucas. On occasion she would ask about him, saying, "Luca hasn't been over in a while. Why don't you invite him for dinner? I will cook grilled chicken, that's his favorite." Sometimes I thought she missed him more than me.

I never knew you could miss someone who you saw everyday. There was so much I missed about him. His eyes, his laugh, his hand in mine, being in his arms. When I started to get upset or angry at myself for not taking him back, I just thought of how mad I would have been if I had taken him back after what he did to me.

If he had only known the truth, then he would have felt even worse. Hailey knew ad Nathan might have known, but whenever either of them were confronted by underclassmen or fellow seniors about the rumor about me, they denied them. No one ever asked me about the rumor. I was glad too, because I might just confess the truth.

I started to feel sick at my stomach every time I remembered the feeling I got when I received the news that changed my life.

* * *

_**End of July BEFORE Senior Year**_

Hailey and I sat alone at out favorite table in Karen's Cafe. My head rested on the table. The cold table top on my sweating head felt perfect.

"What's wrong with you, sweetheart?" Karen, Lucas' mom, asked me as she sat down next to Hailey. She set two glasses of water on to the table.

"Brooke hasn't been feeling so hot." Hailey said, handing me two Aleve from her purse.

I threw the pills into my mouth, took a sip of the water, and then slowly laid my head back onto the table. Karen ran her hands over my head. "Well, doll, if you need anything, you just call me."

Trying to smile, I managed to say, "Thanks, Karen. I really appreciate it." Once she was gone, I leaned in close to Hailey and said, "I'm late."

She looked at her watch, "For what? It's Sunday."

I shook my head. "No." I paused. "I mean...I'm late." I said, emphasizing the latter part of the sentence.

"Oh," Hailey replied, "Well, have you and Lucas... ya know, in the past few weeks?"

"Yeah." I moved from my side of the table to her side. "But, we are always so careful. I mean, I have been on BC since I was a freshman."

Hailey looked like she was in shock. Not because of the fact of the pregnancy possibility, but because I had been on birth control for so long. She was the smart one. Waiting was the ticket.

"But you don't know for sure right?" She slowly took a sip of water and watched the entrance. Nathan walked in, alone. He was dripping in sweat. "Hey." Hailey said as Nathan sat down across from her.

"Hey babe." He reached for Hailey's water and took one long drink. He looked up from the water and at me. "Hey Brooke." He slid the glass back to Hailey. "You look like hell."

"Nathan!" Hailey screeched, disgusted.

"You don't look so bad yourself hot stuff." Nathan and I had a similar sense of self. We didn't take anything from anyone. Especially each other.

Karen came over to the table carrying another glass of water. "Hard practice, Nathan?"

"Yeah," He replied, "Even harder when you mouth off. Especially in my case." He paused and took a drink. "I should probably work on that considering we practice all year long."

"Karen took out lunch orders and left the table. "So what's the deal Brooke? You have a rough night last night? Obviously not with Lucas, because he was perfectly rested at practice." Nathan said.

"What are you getting at?" I asked him, chewing on a piece of ice.

"Nothing. I just thought maybe you and Daniel Howard..."

Hailey slapped him on the arm. "Why are you acting like this?"

Nathan shrugged his shoulders. "I am just looking out for my big brother."

"You call him your brother when you are starting trouble, but let's just say I have some stuff on my mind."

Karen came over with our lunch. I took an onion ring from one of Nathan's four plates. Hailey did the same. With a full mouth, Nathan said, "So Hales, what are we doing tonight?"

She looked at me, "I am going out with Brooke tonight."

"Oh a Sunday night?" He asked.

"Yeah. I said, "We are out of school and I told Hales I would take her to this killer club like thirty minutes away." Hailey nodded as a nervous look crept across Nathan's face.

"Oh, okay." He crammed four onion rings into his mouth, "Don't drink anything I wouldn't drink."

I laughed, "And what would that be?"

He sat silent for a moment and finally said, "Piss."

Hailey and I both looked at each other and then to Nathan. Hailey choked on her grilled cheese. "Was that really necessary?"

"Brooke asked."

"Then it is my fault?"

"Yes." The both said, very serious. Hailey eventually began laughing.

_**

* * *

**_

_**Later That Night**_

Hailey came over around seven that night. I had been craving pizza so once she got their, I ordered it. After we ate the whole pizza, Hailey had an idea. "Brooke, I don't want you to be mad at me but... maybe, we should... go to the drugstore."

I rolled my eyes and threw myself onto our leather couch. "Oh Hales." She sat down next to me. "What would I do with out you?"

"Come on Brooke. I am serious. Maybe we should go get a test."

"Ugh." I quickly laid my head onto a pillow that was on the couch. "You are really ruining my night. I just wanted to hang out." I walked up to the TV and pulled out some DVDs. I held them up to her. "Steele Magnolias, How to Lose a Guy, or... um, Clueless?"

"Clueless... but don't change the subject Brooke. I am going to go get you a test, now if you want to come with me then do but if you don't I am going by myself anyways."

"Fine," I said, getting off of the couch, "I will go. But only because I love you."

"And Brooke I am only doing this because I love you."

I threw a tie dyed sweatshirt over my white tank top and followed Hailey out the door. She stood outside the passenger door of the Beemer waiting on me. "Come on." She said.

I unlocked the doors and got in. On the way to the drugstore so many things were running through my head. It was like a race and "This could ruin my life" was winning. "How am I going to tell Lucas" was a close second and in dead last was, "Oh wow a baby, how exciting."

We pulled into the parking lot and Hailey got out. I couldn't get out of the car. In twenty minutes my life could change for ever. Hailey walked around to my side of the car, opened the door and pulled me out. "Brooke, come on." She said yanking on my arm as hard as she could.

I finally gave in and walked into Walgreen's with her, arm in arm. I walked to the isle where the condoms where. Right above them were the pregnancy tests. "Isn't that ironic?" I said pointing to the condoms. "You should use that, to not have to use that," Now pointing to the pregnancy tests. I took two and Hailey did the same.

She looked at me and said, "You can't even be too careful. Four tests are better than one." I nodded in agreement.

We headed up to the cashier. I prayed that it was not someone we knew and thankfully, I had know clue who this person was. "Well that sure is nice." A woman said with a very southern twang. "Havin' someone to take this with." She said, referring to the tests. I am sure this made Hailey very uncomfortable, but she still didn't say anything.

After we checked out, we went back to my car. I was more nervous than ever now, knowing that moment from now. I could be a mother. As we pulled into the driveway of my house, Hailey said, "You know whatever happens Nate and I will be there for you. I mean we will be the baby's aunt and uncle. And Lucas... if I wasn't married to Nathan, then I would want Lucas to be my baby's father." She paused and I looked at her. "You know..."

"I know what you mean." I got out of the car and she did the same. "But, I mean, I don't even know if I am... yet."

Once inside the house we raced up to the bathroom. Hailey got out all four of the tests. I peed in a cup so that I could take all the tests at once. I used an eyedropper and dropped the urine on to all three of the tests. Hailey put each box above the tests on my bathroom sink. "Okay, the first one is positive if there is a plus mark." She pointed to the next one, "This one is positive if it says yes." She continued down the line. "This one is positive if it is blue." And to the last one, "This one is positive if it says pregnant."

I looked at her. "That's high tech."

"That one was the most expensive." She said pointing to the last one.

We both walked out of the bathroom and into my room. I sat down on the floor. Hailey sat down on my bed. "It could be worse." She said. "At least you and Lucas are together, ya know. And I mean, I am not trying to jinx it but... I bet you all will get married."

"Hailey," I said, "I don't want to talk about getting married right now." I turned on my flat screen TV and flipped through the channel. I looked at Hailey and asked, "How long has it been?"

She looked at her watch and replied, "Ten minutes. The should be ready." She stood up and I followed her into the bathroom.

The next twenty seconds changed my life forever. Hailey read the results. "Plus, positive, blue." She paused and looked up at me. "Pregnant."


	5. Chapter 4

**_chapter.4...lucas_**  
  
_**June 15, 2005**_

The way guys are built has confused the female mind for ages. Men are put together to crave women in their younger years but then once they reach a specific age, the women hunting ceases. They then are either satisfied with their catch or have not caught anything worth keeping. I never realized how much growing up with my mom had affected me until I fell for Brooke. I didn't catch her, she caught me. I didn't let her out of the net nor did she swim out, I accidentally tipped over the net with a little help. The net remained tipped over, she got frustrated, and that was that. The fisherman lost his best catch.  
  
Before, I had never understood the "fish in the sea" analogy. In everyone's lifetime they have a chance at their best catch. Some get it on the first try, some have a couple "best catches" until they finally settle on one, and then there are ones like me who had the chance of a lifetime and lost their best in the blink of an eye.  
  
I never felt for Peyton the way I felt for Brooke. Peyton and me's relationship was based on one thing, convenience. When I needed someone, she always seemed to be there. Every time Peyton and I hooked up; Brooke had a way of finding out.  
  
Almost every night when I can't sleep, I think about Brooke. My favorite memory was that time at the market...

* * *

**_July 28, 2004(3 days after Brooke finds out she is pregnant, Lucas  
DOES NOT know about the baby)_ **

Brooke looked up and down each aisle of the grocery store in search of everything on my mom's list. "Who goes to the grocery at three thirty on a Wednesday, isn't that like the most random time of the week?" She asked in between looking at the list and helping me guide the cart.  
  
"Yeah," I reached for a bag of sugar off the top shelf, "That's how I knew you weren't doing anything."  
  
"She needed Sweet and Low, too." Brooke said, pointing to the blue box of artificial sugar. "Well you think you know me so well don't you." She turned to me, ducked under my arms, and stood up on the cart.  
  
My hands remained on the cart, knowing that at any moment Brooke would push off and guide the cart right into a display of fresh fruit. She looked so happy, so amused by everything in a simple grocery store. "Didn't do this much as a kid, huh?" I asked her, rummaging through a mound of tomatoes.  
  
"Nope," She said, throwing two tomatoes into the bag, "Never." I handed her the bag and she put it into the cart. "My parents always had people go to the grocery for us. I never stepped foot in a Wal-Mart until I was a freshman."  
  
"Girls like you." I felt Brooke lean back onto my chest. I could feel her inhale and exhale. I felt like I was in tune with her body, like I was almost part of her.  
  
She pushed me away from the cart, jumped off, and said, "Girls like me what?" She waved her hands up and down on either side of her body. "What are you saying? Plenty of people wear things like this to go shopping."  
  
I rolled my eyes, "Did you buy that sweat suit with paint stains on it like that or did that happen while you were painting your fence, Tom Sawyer?"  
  
Her shoulders drooped and said, under her breathe, "I bought it like this."  
  
"And how much was that pre-stained outfit, Brooke?" I squinted my eyes at her.  
  
She threw her arms into the air, revealing her stomach from under her zip- up sweat shirt. "Does it matter?" She casually shook her head at me. I moved toward her to continue pushing the cart. She shoved me out of the way and began running with the car. "Bet'cha can't catch me!" She called out.  
  
Her head remained toward me, which was until she ran right into a rack full of magazines. Of course, right as this happened the manager of the store came to the front of the store to talk to a cashier. Brooke lay on the ground, she couldn't move out of embarrassment.  
  
I walked over to her and the crashed cart. The manager confronted me, "Is this your friend?" His hands were on his hips. I watched one of his eyebrows raise as Brooke managed to get up off the floor.  
  
I nodded and took her hand, "Yes, yes it is."  
  
The manager and Brooke began picking up the magazines from the floor. He looked up at me, "Well maybe you should keep an eye on her next time."  
  
Brooke stood up and threw her hands onto her hips. I knew this was coming. "What is that supposed to mean?"  
  
"Brooke," I shook my head at her, "Now would not be the best time to insult the store manager."  
  
"What better time could there be?"  
  
"Maybe not now." I mumbled to myself.  
  
The large man stood up, magazine in hands. "If you are going to get frisky with me lady, then I am going to have to ask you to leave."  
  
Brooke shifted her weight from one foot to the other. "Gladly." Brooke reached into the cart and threw the sugar and tomatoes onto the floor, right in front of the manager.  
  
She stormed out of the store. I picked the items off of the floor and handed them to the manager. "Sorry about her. Sometimes she just gets..." I began walking out the door. "Just sorry."  
  
Once outside, I confronted Brooke, "What was that all about?"  
  
She twisted her hair up into a loose bun atop her head. "God, I hate grocery shopping. Is it always that stressful? Stress sucks."  
  
I unlocked the door to my truck and got in. Brooke got in and I said to her, "Let's just say I have never gotten kicked out of a grocery store before and no, grocery shopping is not supposed to be that stressful."  
  
She looked out the window the whole ride back to her house. I watch her casually rub her lower stomach. "You okay?" I asked her.  
  
Whipping her head around, she said, "Yeah." She smiled. "Fine." She looked down at her hands and then quickly moved them up to her chest and crossing them.  
  
We pulled into her driveway. She opened the door and got out. We went in through the garage as always. Rosa stood in the kitchen, ready to greet us. "Ahh. Luca. Hola mijo." She reached into the fridge and pulled out two sodas. I took mine. Brooke put hers back into the refrigerator and replaced it with bottled water.  
  
"I am trying to cut down on my soda intake." We nodded at her. "Keeps ya healthy."  
  
"Brooke Davis worried about keeping healthy." I looked her up and down. "Since when?"  
  
"I dunno. I have just come to the conclusion to clean up a little, maybe." She sipped on her water. "Don't wanna screw myself up even more, ya know?"  
  
She was acting weird. She had been for the past few days. I kept my fingers crossed hoping that it didn't have anything to do with me or to do with us and if it did... then that she would tell me. She had never been good with trust, but I hoped that this time it was different. I would never hurt her again, she could trust me. I knew she could, I just hoped that she knew that too.


	6. Chapter 5

**_This begins the story in the present time. There maybe the occasional flashback, but not like in the other chapters. I just did that to catch everything up. Thanks for all the reviews, I appreciate it so much! I am going out of town this weekend so hopefully I will have one more chapter before I leave. Thanks again!_**

**_Chapter.5...brooke_**

**_June 17th, 2005_**  
  
When I was little, no one was hardly ever home at my house. It was almost always just me and the babysitters. They were painfully boring. My babysitters, daughters of my father's colleagues, never lifted a single finger to play with me. What was I supposed to do as a five year old kid with basically no parents and no social life? I did what any other kid in my place would do, I found myself an imaginary friend. Its name was Elephunk. He was an elephant who played every instrument under the moon. We would sit on the front lawn, me singing and him playing his instrument of choice. Lucas reminded me a lot of Elephunk, they were the perfect listeners and they both left me at very important times in my life. Sometimes I wished that it would be normal for a teenager to have imaginary friends, they are the best ones.  
  
Speaking of Lucas, I hadn't seen him since the night of graduation. He looked so perfect. The blue of the robes was the exact color of his ocean eyes. When he looked at me that night, his eyes seemed to slowly dim. I couldn't look him in the eyes; I felt so terrible for what I had none to him, but I didn't know what else to do. I had to do it; it was the only right thing to do.  
  
Everything changed after that night in late July last year. I never realized how fast things could change, but now I understand. She had her father's eyes. That blue sparkle. I had hoped she would have his eyes; the eyes which had reminded me of blamelessness so long ago now reminded me of the innocence that was our child. Never in my life would I have accused Lucas of doing anything other than perfect. I held him to a standard that was unattainable. To me, he hung the moon and I prayed at night, when I lay in bed thinking of him, that she would think of him just the same way and that she could be his stars in the sky. Together they could be the flawless blue sky.  
  
I thought we could be flawless. In my mind we were. Our perfection was so rudely interrupted by her one lonely, humid night in mid-August. The day after it happened, I came back in town. I could tell by the dimness in his pristine eyes that something had gone on while I was away. Everyone was appalled at the way I had to find out, or at least they acted like they were.  
  
My eyes stayed on her throughout the entire graduation ceremony. She woke up and fell asleep four times before finally falling asleep for good, well actually until three thirty the next morning. When she yawned her eyes scrunched up and her body wriggled in the slowest motion. She was magnificent. I watched Lucas look at her. When a smile crept across his face, followed by a wink. It almost looked like she recognized him, like she knew that he was a part of her.  
  
He was there the day she came into my life. As if I wasn't in enough physical pain, I guess he didn't want my emotional pain to get jealous so he brought her. He walked in, accompanied by one of the doctors. I over heard everything, "Mr. Scott I know how much you want to be in here, but she is under enough stress and because of the situation you two are in..." I heard Peyton in the background calling out that she was my friend and that I wanted her in the room. In between contractions, I managed to yell out, "Get them out of here! I told her I never wanted to talk to her again." Another contraction shot down my spine. "Especially now!" I watched the door quickly close. I saw Lucas nose in the window of the door. I threw my arm in the air and lowered all my fingers except for the middle one. With that, he left.  
  
When you dream of having a family as a little girl, you never expect to start at the age I started. I never expected to start at the age I started. There for a while I thought I was at a point in my life where I was invincible. That was when Lucas walked into my life. But before he could even get settled in my existence he quickly he walked right back out. With him he took my dreams of being sincerely happy because I knew the only way that I could be the happiest me possible, was if I was with him.  
  
Part of me knew not to go back to him; knowing that giving into him was saying, "Yeah do it again to me. I don't care. I will just let you back again and again and again". The other part of me was screaming at me, "What are you thinking? He was the only person you ever loved. Who cares what he did to you? He is all you think about. You need him". And I did need him. We both needed him.  
  
When it came down to it, I was scared. I knew he was going to Wake Forest in the fall and I didn't want to tag along with him. I knew that my going anywhere with him was going to hold him back from anything that he could make of himself. I also knew that I deserved more than to be treated like someone he didn't even know, someone he didn't even care about. We loved each other. I know that we did. Some girls my age think that just because a guy sleeps with you, he loves you. Guess what? No. Yes, Lucas and I did sleep with each other. But I loved him before we were intimate.  
  
Lucas was the first person who made me want to be truthful. I had never had the urge to tell the truth until I was with him. He made me a completely different person. He made me a better person. But I guess you could say that I made him a worse person. Lucas Scott did not cheat on people, Brooke Davis was not faithful. We had switched places. I was him and he was me. Why couldn't we have been in the same place for one moment in between all the chaos?  
  
I remember the look on Lucas face when he saw her after graduation. She was just over a month old, but already had developed her features. He squatted down next to her stroller and put his hand in. She immediately reached for his index finger and wrapped her tiny fingers around his. He smiled and said, "She has your nose." He ran his hand over her head and looked up at me, "And that hair. I know someone who has chocolate hair like that."  
  
"She has your eyes." He looked up from the baby and at me. Our eyes met for the first time in months. "See." I pointed to her and bent over to fix the blanket that was covering her oh so tiny body.  
  
His face was anxious. "Can I..." He stuttered under the pressure of what was about to be said, "Maybe hold... her?"  
  
Almost in shock, I could barely reply, "Oh." I reached into the stroller to pull her out. Once out, I handed her to Lucas. "Hold her..." I caught myself. He was her father, don't worry so much.  
  
"I know." He butted in. "Her head." Her head lay on his shoulder and her eyes slowly closed.  
  
I watched Nathan and Hailey walk up from behind Lucas. Hailey spoke first. She had seen the baby, unlike Nathan. "Hey baby doll." She ran her hand over the babies head and down its back. She looked at it and said, "Oh." She whispered, "She's sleeping." I nodded as Hailey gave me a hug. "Past few days any better than the days before that?"  
  
I shook my head. "No." I laughed. "I have gotten maybe six hours of sleep in the past three days. But I don't guess that is so bad." I winked at her.  
  
Nathan finally spoke. "So this is my niece?" He asked Lucas.  
  
That was the moment of realization. Lucas lifted his head and looked at me, smiling he looked down at the baby, and then back to Nathan. "Yeah," He held her, now, in the cradle position, "Yeah, this is her."


	7. Chapter 6

**_chapter.6...lucas_**  
  
**_June 19th, 2005_**  
  
Enough was enough. It had been two weeks since we had met her and I hadn't seen her since. I knew that the one person in life I dreaded becoming was my father, Dan Scott. He hadn't been there for me throughout the majority of my life and I knew that if I didn't make an effort to be with my daughter, then he was who I would become if I didn't change.  
  
They both were the pictures of perfection graduation night. Just thinking of them made me want to change my tune. Her light pink blanket was embroidered with her name. Lilia was written across the top of the blanket, closest to her face. Brooke pointed out her eyes, saying that she had mine. And she did. The pools of ice blue resembled mine in everyway possible. It was hard to not look at her knowing that she was half me and half of the woman that I had so dearly loved.  
  
I had to change. The clock on the VCR blinked 12:00 when I finally rolled of the couch and decided to do something with my day other than watch Real World: Australia for the zillionth time this month. After graduation my days were filled with television watching, Twinkies, and the occasional shoot around with Nathan.  
  
As I walked out the front door, wearing a hat Brooke had bought me, my mom called out to me, "Lucas!" I turned around once I got to my truck. "Where are you going?"  
  
"To Brooke's." On the way to her house, I was completely sick to my stomach. For knowing her as long and as well as I did, I never would have expected to be this nervous just to see her. The nervousness escalated when I saw her standing at the mailbox, baby in tow.  
  
Her long brown hair was thrown on top of her head securely fastened with a clip. She wore blue sweatpants and a white tank top. Her bare feet were covered by the freshly cut, green grass. I could see her gasp as I pulled into the driveway as I did so many times months before.  
  
Brooke stood at the entrance to her house as I got out of the truck. I watched her watch me. Once I stood in front of her I reached my hand out to hold Lilia. Brooke turned from me and opened the door to go inside. I stood in the door way. She waved her hand at me, "Come in if you want."  
  
Stepping into the house that months ago felt like my second home now seemed so foreign. Rosa stood in the kitchen, as always, stirring a pot of something. From the smell coming from where she was, I believe it was soup. "Brooke, we only have one clean bottle. Go get some from the babies..." She turned around to see Brooke and I standing together in the middle of the living room, talking. Her speaking then ceased.  
  
"So why exactly are you here?" Brooke asked me in the most uninterested tone.  
  
I followed her up the stairs and stopped once we reached her room. Clothes and baby products were thrown all over the floor. "I wanted to see Lilia." I picked a new baby bottle off of the floor and handed it to her. "I didn't realize that was such an imposition."  
  
She laid Lilia into her crib and looked up at me, "I didn't know that asking you to be there when she was born was such an imposition."  
  
"First of all, you didn't even have the balls to ask me you got Hailey to do it like she was your messenger or something." I held up two fingers. "Second of all, I _**was**_ there."  
  
"So _**was**_ she." Brooke scurried around her room, picking up every item off of the floor and throwing it on to her bed.  
  
I tried to walk toward her, but she kept moving away. "You always do this." I threw a shoe onto her bed and continued, "Will you stop?" I grabbed her arms and pulled her away from her busy work.  
  
"Can you?" She pulled her arms away from me and dropped them to her sides.  
  
"What are you talking about?"  
  
She squinted her eyes at me, "You know what I am talking about?"  
  
"Stop it. God. You haven't changed at all. Stop beating around the situation and just tell me what you are talking about."  
  
"Fine." She put her hands on her hips. That's when I knew it was coming, she always did that when she was about to tell someone how it was. "Yes, you were there but you brought her. I wanted you there, but I didn't know that to ask you to be at the birth of our child meant that you have to bring Peyton along. I know that you all weren't together and I know that you two weren't ever together. That's what I don't understand. Why she was there."  
  
"That's what you are mad at?"  
  
"You act like it's not a big deal, but it was to me. And no, that is not the only thing." She paused and her back slid down her bathroom door. She looked up at me, eyes glazing over with tears. "God, Lucas I was so scared... I **_am_** so scared."  
  
I sat down in front of her and placed my hand on her leg. "Brooke I am so sorry about everything. I know how much you hated me and for all I know you still hate me. But I want to be there; the last thing I want is for Lilia to not have a father. I know how hard that is and I want her to have all the things that I didn't."  
  
She lowered her head into her hands. She spoke without lifting her head, "Lucas I can't do this again."  
  
"Do what?" I asked leaning toward her.  
  
She lifted her head and I watched the tears roll from her eyes. She pointed to me and then to herself, "This. Me. You. I just can't."  
  
"B, please, come on. One more chance. That is all I need. I sware to God I won't screw up again." I felt tears began to fill my eyes. She stood up and I did the same. "One more..."  
  
"Lucas," She reached into the crib and pulled Lilia out. "I have given you one more chance more times that I can count." She wiped her eyes with the hand that was not holding Lilia. "I just can't do it again. Not right now, and I don't know if I will ever be able to again."  
  
Following Brooke out of her room and down the stairs, I said to her, "Are you sure this is what you want?"  
  
She stood at the bottom of the stairs with Lilia's head resting on her shoulder. Brooke looked at the baby who was now asleep on her mothers shoulder. "Yeah. I'm sure."  
  
I walked out of the house feeling the same emptiness that I had felt upon entering. What was I supposed to do now? Did she want me to be in Lilia's life? Right at that moment I made the best decision I had ever made in my life, it didn't matter if Brooke wanted me to be a part of Lilia's life. I wanted to be a part of her life and that was that. 


	8. Chapter 7

**_Chapter.7...brooke_**  
  
**_June 22, 2005_**

Very seldom did people, other than teenage girls, look at me with disgust. Jealousy, but never disgust. As I walked up and down the streets of downtown Tree Hill I felt like I was a rat in a maze that everyone was watching, anticipating it to run into a wall. I did, however, stumble on a crack in the sidewalk but never turning around to look at my defeater nor did I stop walking as if my tripping was on purpose.  
  
Watching every single person on the other side of the sidewalk and making sure that Lilia still had her pacifier in the mouth and that it wasn't on the dirty sidewalk was a task. I wheeled her into my favorite corner deli, DT Deli. Stepping through the threshold I felt thousands of old feelings all at once. I remembered taking Lucas here for the first time. He was skeptical coming to the deli because of his mother's café. I told him not to worry because this place was just convenient because we were downtown. He nodded, relieved. I would never had admitted to him that a preferred DT to Karen's. That's just between you and me.  
  
When the manager saw me enter he immediately rushed over to me. He was a large, Italian man who spoke with a slight accent. "Mi Bella." He leaned over me and gave me a kiss on the cheek. "Where have you been?" He asked, sitting down in the chair across from me.  
  
I wheeled the stroller around so that Lilia faced me. "Around." I answered, coyly as I pushed Lilia back and forth in a stroller. She cooed at me and I smiled. She was my best and only friend right now. Her features now blew me away. Those blue eyes that once made me fall in love with Lucas now made me fall in love with her. She had more hair than most forty year old men. I ran my hand over her head and studied her face. She looked like a porcelain doll that collectors paid thousands of dollars for. The only thing I paid was my childhood and in return I got hers.  
  
Nico leaned into the strolled and peeked at Lilia. "Ah! What a beautiful baby!" He cried, "She looks just like her sister." He said looking up at me with a wink. He grabbed her pink sock covered foot and tickled it. She tried to kick her foot and Nico let go.  
  
"Actually," I said pulling Lilia out and putting her over my bare shoulder, "She is my baby." Her tiny body was covered in a pink romper with colorful flowers all over. I ran my hand up and down her back until she fell asleep. Then I lowered her back into the stroller where she continued sleeping. I was relieved she needed all the sleep she could get, but so could I, but that was a different story.  
  
"Oh." Nico slowly replied, taking everything in. He took a deep breath and leaned in close to me, "Well what can I get you? The regular?" Nico stood up from the table and walked behind the counter.  
  
I nodded and he began making my turkey, swiss, lettuce, and mayo sandwich on a sesame seed bagel. Looking away from him and back at Lilia I realized I didn't have a problem with being alone. I leaned back in my seat and closed my eyes with my hand glue to Lilia's right leg. I awoke from my cat nap when a ringing came from the entrance. Turning my head toward the door, I saw a familiar face.  
  
Daniel Howard stood in the door way, all six feet three of him. He looked like every handsome, young guy who had been in any teen movie and had girls post their pictures all over their bedroom walls over the past five years. His James Dean good looks made girls across North Carolina swoon over him, and then he would drop them like flies. I felt honored to have been one of the girls to have a semi-relationship with him.  
  
His sunglasses, still on his face, gave him this untouchable aura about him. Even I, a fellow untouchable, felt nervous to call out his name. Unshaven in days, he looked astonishingly hip. I watched him raise his sunglasses to the top of his head. He didn't see me until Nico called to me to come get my sandwich.  
  
Daniel's face slowly turned when he heard my name. I watched his face for a change in emotion. "Hey." He said, now looking me in the eye.  
  
"Hi." I said, racing back over to my table scared to leave Lilia alone for a minute. He got his lunch and brought it over to the table where I was sitting.  
  
Before he pulled out the chair to take a seat, he said, "You don't mind, do you?" I shook my head and he took a seat in front of me. "Haven't seen you in a while." He said, taking a bite of his sandwich. He looked down at the stroller, "And I guess I see why."  
  
"Yeah," I said, looking into the stroller to make sure she was still asleep, "It's been pretty insane. The past few months."  
  
"What happened?"  
  
I looked at my Omega watch and looked up at him. He sipped his black coffee and I replied, "I am going to need more time to tell you about everything." He nodded his head and I continued. "Look Daniel, I am really sorry about everything."  
  
His head shook and he replied, "I know Brooke. I am not stupid. You and Lucas," He squinted his eyes and shrugged his shoulders, "I get it." He looked at Lilia and then up at me. "We were too alike, ya know?"  
  
I leaned toward him and spoke again, "Listen, how about you come over tonight? It's not a date or anything so don't worry you don't have to bring condoms or anything." He laughed. "I will cook dinner and we can catch up."  
  
"I would like that." He said back as he took a huge bite of his sandwich. A drop of mustard lingered on his lower lip.  
  
I pointed to it and said, "You have a little something..." With my finger, I wiped his lip and showed it to him.  
  
"Wow," He replied, "What a mother figure you have become since the last time I saw you we were at the wedding and lets just say," He whispered, "You were drinking."  
  
I laughed and stood up, walking over to the trash can and throwing everything away. I went back over to the table and took Daniel's trash. He lowered his glasses to cover his eyes. I picked my white Prada purse off of the black and white tiled floor. Daniel put his hands on the bar of the stroller. "Shall we?" He asked me, as he held the door for me with his other hand.  
  
"Yes we shall. Let's get outta here." He pushed the stroller until we reached my Lexus. I bent over and got Lilia out of her stroller and put her carefully into her car seat. "I know you are looking at my ass Daniel Howard." I turned around and with a seductive smile said, "I am a mother now, you can't do that."  
  
He put his hands on my hips and said, "What else can't I do?"  
  
I put my index finger over his pouty lips and said, "I know what you can do." We leaned in, my lips almost touching his. Before I could reach his, I heard a ringing from my purse. "Damnit." I said under my breath. The cell phone read, "Lucas Cell Calling."  
  
"Who is it?" Daniel asked opening my car door for me.  
  
I got in and answered him, "I'll give you three guesses and the first two," I shook my head, "don't count."


	9. Chapter 8

**_Chapter.8...lucas_**  
  
One of my biggest pet peeves in the world was cell phones. Now more than ever after my little cell phone accident senior year. I hated people who wouldn't answer their phones. I hated people who had phones and didn't carry them. And I also hated people who always talked in them in public places. No one cared about their problems, especially when you can only hear one end of the conversation. My cell phone tribulations continued into the day.  
  
That afternoon I must have called around ten times and still no answer. Finally, the eleventh time I called she answered. No, wait, no answer, just voicemail. She really needs to change that "Hello? It's Brooke." It gets me every time, especially that time. I anxiously awaited her answer after I pressed the redial button one last time. Of course, no success yet again.  
  
Let me think. What would a jealous ex-boyfriend/father do if he wanted to talk to his ex-girlfriend/mother? It hit me like a ton of bricks. After reaching for my keys off of my bed side table, I rolled off of my bed and left my room. My mom stood in the kitchen, watching my every move.  
  
"Lucas, where are you going?" She called to me as she stirred a bowl full of cookie dough.  
  
"Out." I walked into the kitchen and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "I will be back later."  
  
I watched her nod her head as I walked out the door. Nerves rushed throughout my whole body before I had even reached my truck. After I started my car I began to have second thoughts. _What was I doing?_ I thought to myself. _Brooke doesn't want to be with me and I should respect that._ Then, I finally came to my senses. I loved Brooke and I would always love Brooke.  
  
She was my first true love and as far as I knew, I was her first also. Nothing could come between the fact that we had a child together. There would always be a part of me combined with a part of her out there in the world and I had to take matters into my own hands. I knew Brooke would make no effort for Lilia and me to come in contact so I had to.  
  
Once I pulled out of my driveway I came to the conclusion that I wasn't going to Brooke's to see her, I was going to see my daughter. Pulling into her estate and onto her driveway, I noticed an unfamiliar car. It was a black 2004 Ford Explorer with a bumper stick on the back that read, "I gave up drugs, sex and booze...it was the worst 20 minutes of my life."  
  
You have got to be kidding me, I thought to myself. She left me for some guy who is addicted to drugs, sex, and alcohol. Just what she needs.  
  
I knocked on the door three times before someone answered. It was a guy, maybe my age or a little older. "Hey." He said. I knew the guy, but I just couldn't remember his name. He put his hand out, "Daniel Howard."  
  
"Lucas Scott." I said shaking his hand.  
  
"Right, right from Tree Hill High. I remember you."  
  
I followed him inside the house and looked around. Nothing had changed, although I hadn't expected it to. "Yeah, you went to Pinkerton, right?" I watched him nod his head as he walked into the living room and casually took a seat, in my place, on the couch.  
  
Before I sat down, I saw her. Both of them. They were in the kitchen. Lilia's head rested on her shoulder. Brooke's arm was under Lilia's rear end. Dressed in gray sweatpants and a black tank top, she looked phenomenal. Lilia wore only a diaper and a light pink ribbon atop her head.  
  
Brooke slowly turned around. At first I believe she saw me but then I spoke up. "Brooke." She looked in my direction and handed the baby off to Daniel. I cringed, longing to be the one to hold my daughter.  
  
"Come in here with me." She said, leading me into the dining room. Brooke picked a photo album off of the table and handed it to me. "Here. I want you to have this." She crossed her arms across her chest and shifted her weight from one foot to the other.  
  
I opened the album and began flipping through the pages. It was a scrapbook Brooke had made. It started out with the two of us in middle school. Brooke had braces and I wore a backwards basketball cap. In the picture Brooke was reaching over my head and pulling the hat off. The final picture was of Brooke and me at graduation. Lilia was in-between us.  
  
"Brooke," I said, trying to hand the album back to her. "I can't take this."  
  
"I want you to have it." She let out a long sigh. "Lucas, I am tired."  
  
"Do you need to nap? Cause I can take..."  
  
She shook her head. "No, I mean. I am tired of **this**." She pointed her finger and moved it in a circular motion. "I don't want to be like this anymore. She needs a father." We looked over at Lilia, who was laying across Daniel's chest.  
  
"Seems like she already has one." I said pulling out a chair from the table and sitting down.  
  
"Come on Lucas, I am trying to reconcile here not start a..."  
  
"I am not trying to start a fight either." My voice began to rise. "I fell like a dead beat and it is your entire fault." I pushed the album onto the floor. "If you would have just **_TOLD_** me that you were pregnant instead of me having to find out for myself when I saw you after Christmas break."  
  
She picked the album off the floor and sat it back onto the table. "I know, Lucas, I made a mistake." I watched her calm face quickly turn annoyed. "But you made a bigger mistake when you slept with my best friend."  
  
"A bigger mistake? Ha!" I stood up out of the chair and pushed it out of the way. "How could that be a bigger mistake? At least my mistake didn't affect my whole life."  
  
"That is the most idiotic thing I have ever heard." She threw her arms into the air and then rested them on her hips. "Don't you get it Lucas; it did change your life. If you hadn't screw up and around we would still be together."  
  
"Do you really believe that?" I asked her, wrathfully. "If we couldn't stay together before, what makes you think we could have stayed together after Lilia was born? Nothing. You don't have any sort of facts to prove that we would still have been together."  
  
"I didn't need **facts** Lucas! All I knew was that I loved you. I was a stupid, naïve girl who thought that all you needed was love. God damnit!" She screamed throwing a vase of roses to the wall. It hit and shattered into thousands of little glass pieces.  
  
She pointed to the front door. "Get out of my house." When I didn't leave, she yelled again, "I said get out!" Once I reached the door I looked at my daughter, asleep on another man. Then I looked back at Brooke, who was knelt down in front of the crushed glass. She was sobbing. She looked up and at me, "Please." She could hardly speak from all the tears. "Just leave." 


	10. Chapter 9

**_Chapter.9...brooke_**  
  
What was happening? What was I doing to myself? Why was I doing this? Sometimes I wondered if maybe there was something wrong with me. If maybe I was scared of commitment. Not only was a ruining my life, but now I had another person in my life I had to worry about. No longer could I be the selfish me, I had to be a new me. I had to be the selfless me.  
  
Watching Lucas' leave my house, possibly for good, made me come to the understanding that I had really screwed up. He was the only man in my life and he was the only person who had ever made me feel like I was special. He was the only person who had ever told me that he loved me. I knew that he was the only one in the world who would put up with me and almost enjoy it.  
  
I watched Lilia's chest go up and down in a somewhat soothing rhythm. Nothing in my life had been calming since I had given birth to Lilia. Nothing was simple anymore. There was only one person who could make everything a little more simple.  
  
Running into the kitchen and grabbing my car keys off of the table, I called out to anyone who was listening, "I have to go." I ran out of the front door and jumped into my car, not worrying about Lilia because I knew Daniel would watch her.  
  
The front door opened and Daniel stood in the door way with Lilia resting on his hip. "Where are you going?" He asked me through my open window. He was a good friend, part of me wish that we had become more but the other part of me, the part of me that loved Lucas knew that it was better this way.  
  
"I just, I just have to go." I said, out of breath. I turning the car on and began to pull out of the driveway.  
  
I heard Daniel's muffled voice as I left the driveway, "He loves you." I smiled at his comment.  
  
Reaching for the radio, I noticed my hand was shaking. He can't be too far, I thought to myself. He just left my house. When I got to his house, I noticed his truck was not there. Karen stood in the front yard, "Where is Lucas? Do you know?"  
  
She shrugged her sholders and said, "I thought he went to your house."  
  
I let out a long sigh, "He was but, it's a long story and I just really need to find him."  
  
"Sorry I can't help dear. Maybe he is..."  
  
The beemer pulled away before she could continue. Driving faster than I had ever driven before in my life, I became more and more nervous. What if he went to Peyton's? What if he doesn't want to be with me anymore? I asked myself, hitting my steering wheel with my left hand. Why was I so stupid? Lucas was the perfect guy. Maybe that is why I did what I did. He was too perfect for someone like me. A girl like me didn't deserve someone like him.  
  
Trying to stay focused on the road; I shuffled through my purse and finally found my cell phone. I dialed Haley's cell phone number. No answer. Next I called Nathan's house. "Hello?"  
  
"Nathan?"  
  
"Brooke?"  
  
"Yeah, I don't have time to talk. Does anyone know where Lucas is?"  
  
I heard him ask Haley. "I don't have a clue but Haley said maybe at the RiverCourt."  
  
"Shit." I said, hitting the steering wheel once more. "I just passed it."  
  
"Why do you need to know? I didn't think you all were really on speaking terms."  
  
I pulled into someone's driveway to turn around. "Well we aren't... but we are. Well, he came to my house and we fought... I don't have time to talk about this right now Nathan. I will call you back later to let you know how everything went, okay?"  
  
"Okay fine. Bye."  
  
I closed my cell phone and threw it back into my purse. There he was. I should have known. He was shooting three, after three, after three accompanied by the occasional free throw. I opened my car door and slowly got out. My arms were crossed over my chest. He heard me close the door and looked over in my direction but quickly turned away.  
  
"Didn't get enough yelling out the last time you saw me?" He asked shooting another three and then going up for a lay-up.  
  
"Listen, Lucas, I know I am the last person you want to talk to especially after what happened back there." I bit my lip and questioned whether or not to continue, "But, I just..."  
  
Lucas took the ball and sat down on a bench about six feet away from me. He sat the ball on the ground. "You're not the last person I want to talk to." He said, now looking up at me. "Close, but not the last person."  
  
Yet again I refused eye contact and looked away from him. I wondered if I should sit down next to him or continue standing. I opted for standing. "I just came to say..." I ran my fingers through my hair and continued, "That I don't appreciate what you did back there."  
  
He picked the ball off of the ground and began bouncing it again, "You have got to be kidding me, Brooke. Your outstanding pride is really making you sound like a jackass right now." He shook his head and under his breath said, "You are so arrogant."  
  
Agreeing with him I said, "Let's just hope Lilia has your unselfishness. The last thing you need is another conceited woman in your life." I moved over and sat next to him, finally looking him in the eyes.  
  
"What are you saying?" He asked, putting the ball down for a final time.  
  
"God, this is so hard for me." I lowered my arms to my sides and said, "I want you to take me back."  
  
"What makes you think that I should do that?"  
  
"Come on Lucas don't make me do this."  
  
"Do what?"  
  
"Beg."  
  
"I didn't even know the word beg was in your vocabulary."  
  
"I didn't either, but there is no way in hell that you will ever get Brooke Davis to beg for anything."  
  
"What if I said, if you beg then maybe I will take you back?"  
  
"Maybe?" I shook my head and my index finger at him and said, "No maybe about it. Either yes or no."  
  
"Okay, if you beg I will take you back."  
  
I took a deep breath and put my pride aside, "Please, Lucas, take me back." I said, half-heartedly.  
  
"Come on." He said, "You can do better than that."  
  
Hitting him on the arm, I said, "Don't make me do it again."  
  
He held up one finger and said, "One more time and I sware this is the last time."  
  
"Please, Lucas, take me back." I said, this time really trying.  
  
"Why should I take you back?" He asked, sincerely as he put his arm around my waist.  
  
It felt so good that I could barely speak. I leaned in and kissed him on the lips. "Because, because I love you and so does Lilia."  
  
He kissed me back and said, "Well, I guess that is reason enough."  
  
I leaned over and rested my head on his shoulder. "Guess we better go get the baby from Daniel."  
  
"You left our baby with Daniel?"  
  
"Say that one more time." I said to him, as I looked him right in the blue eyes.  
  
"What? The part about Daniel?" He asked with a confused look on his face.  
  
I shook my head and said, "No, the part about our baby."  
  
His face lit up and he said, "Wow, our baby."  
  
**Author Note**_: Good, bad, wonderful, terrible? Tell me what you think. For those of you who really enjoyed Being Bad and Comfortable, I have started on a third installment titled **Nothing Gold Can Stay** so please be on the lookout for that story. Thanks to everyone who have read my stories and reviewed them. If you all haven't done that, then I probably would have stopped writing. _

**PS**_ Sorry about taking to long to get Lucas and Brooke together, it was fun to write but I'm sure hard to read. Thanks for sticking with it._


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